The present application relates to laundry detergent compositions which comprise one or more crosslinked and/or grafted polyamines which provide enhanced fabric appearance benefits. The crosslinked and/or grafted polyamines of the present invention which mitigate fabric damage and improve fabric appearance are combined with detersive surfactants and optionally a bleaching system for use in high and low density granular, heavy duty and light duty liquids, as well as laundry bar detergent compositions.
Formulators of fabric care and laundry detergent compositions include various ingredients, inter alia surfactants, cationic softening actives, anti-static agents, dye transfer inhibitors, and bleach-damage mitigating agents, for the purpose of improving cleaning, fabric appearance, fabric feel, fabric color and to extend the duration of fabric life. Ingredients which are added to these compositions must not only provide a benefit, but must be compatible with a variety of product forms, i.e. high density granules, liquid dispersions, isotropic liquids including clear, colorless/translucent liquids which may include principal solvents inter alia 1,2-hexanediol, 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol (TMPD).
There is a need for laundry detergent compositions which provide color integrity, as well as thoroughness of cleaning, which is considered by the consumer to be an important aspect of fabric enhancement. In addition, there is a need for these protective materials to be highly water soluble or water dispersible, while exhibiting a high degree of fabric substantivity. And there is also a need for a fabric enhancement material which will provide a high level of fabric protection on an efficient per unit weight basis.
The present invention meets the aforementioned needs in that it has been surprisingly discovered that high molecular weight modified polyamine compounds, preferably compounds formed by the reaction of grafted or ungrafted and/or modified or unmodified polyamines with a crosslinking agent wherein said modified polyamine compounds have a molecular weight of form about 1,000 daltons, preferably from about 10,000 daltons to about 10 million daltons, preferably to about 2.5 million daltons, are suitable for use in high and low density granular, heavy duty and light duty liquids, as well as laundry bar detergent compositions to provide fabric appearance benefits inter alia mitigation of fabric damage, prevention of fabric mechanical damage.
A first aspect of the present invention which relates to laundry detergent compositions comprising:
a) from about 0.01% by weight, of a fabric enhancement system, said fabric enhancement system comprising one or more modified polyamine compounds, said modified polyamine compounds are selected from:
i) (PA)w(T)x;
ii) (PA)w(L)z;
iii) [(PA)w(T)x]y[L]z; and
iv) mixtures thereof; wherein PA is a grafted or non-grafted, modified or unmodified polyamine backbone unit, T is an amide-forming polycarboxylic acid crosslinking unit, and L is a non-amide forming crosslinking unit; provided that for compounds of type (i) and (iii) the indices w and x have values such that the ratio of w to x is from 0.8:1 to 1.5:1; for compounds of type (ii) the indices w and z have values such that said modified polyamine compound comprises from about 0.05, preferably from about 0.3 to 2 parts by weight of said L unit; for compounds of type (iii) the indices y and z have values such that said modified polyamine compound comprises from about 0.05, preferably from about 0.3 to 2 parts by weight of said L unit;
b) from about 0.01% by weight, of a detersive surfactant selected from the group consisting of anionic, cationic, nonionic, zwitterionic, ampholytic surfactants, and mixtures thereof; and
c) the balance carriers and adjunct ingredients.
These and other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of the following detailed description and the appended claims. All percentages, ratios and proportions herein are by weight, unless otherwise specified. All temperatures are in degrees Celsius (xc2x0 C.) unless otherwise specified. All documents cited are in relevant part, incorporated herein by reference.